Improvement in potato-diggers



didnt gaat NICHOLAS VANDENBURGH;Y OFSGHUYLEYILLE, NEW YORK.

Letters Patent No. 109,974, dated December 6, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN PO'lv'ATO-DIGGERS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NICHOLAS VANDENBURGH, of Schuylerville, in the county of Washington and in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Potato-Digger; and d o hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon making a part of this specification.

The nature of vmy invention consists in the construe- .t-ion of a potato-digger, which is intended as an improvement upon one patented to me October 18, '1870, as will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art tol which my invention appertains to make and use the same, I will 'now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexedA drawing, in which- Figure 1 is alongitudinal vertical section of the entire machine, the revolving cylinder within, which is the mechanism of the potato-digger, being in transverse vertical section; I

-Figure 2 is a plan view of the entire machine; land Figure 3 is a section, showing the end of one of the lakes. y

A represents the frame of my machine, having a .wheel, B, on each side.

The'wheels B B have separate and independent axles orV journals, which only pass through their respective sides of the frame, and have each a pinion,

O, attached to it inside of the frame.

Thesewheels B B should be arranged on their axlesvwith ratchet-wheels and pawls in such a manuel' Ythat they will turn said axles with the Apinions only,

when the machine is driven forward; but when either or both of the wheels should be turned backward, its or their axle will remain stationary.

- The rims of the wheels B B are provided withteeth a a, which penetrate the ground vso as to insure the turning of the wheels.

On each side of the frame A, in rear ofthe wheels, is a standard or post, D, on the insideof which is pivoted a disk or circular board, E, the front edge of which basa projection, l), which rests upon the front edge of the trame A. 'lhese disks or boards E E,.I call'cam-boards, because certain cams are attached to them on their inner sides, as will be hereinafter described.

Through the center of each of these cam-boards E passesan arbor, having 'on its outer end a pinion, G, which gears with the pinion C, and its inner end is firmly s ecured in the center of the cylinder-head H, tihe'ltwo heads H.H being connected by the cylinf er The heads H H are provided with an even number' of curved slots d d, as shown in fig. 1, in which are placed the heads e e of the rakes, the teeth ff of the respective rakes passing throughholes made for that purpose in the cylinder I, as shown in fig. 2..

lhe heads e `c of every two rakes, directly' opposite each other, are connected by the connecting-rods h h, so that when one'of each set of rakes is drawn in into the-cylinder, the other must be pushed out, and rice versa.

On the heads e e, where they pass through the slots d d, are placed rollersfi i, to lessen the friction and facilitate tlie movement of the rake-head from end to end of said slot.

On the outer ends ofthe rake-heads e c, which project through the headsY H H, are placed other frictionrollers It k, which strike against the camsJ and K,

attached to the inner side of the cam-boards E E.

The cams J are for the purpose of drawing the rakes into the cylinder after they have each in suecession taken the potatoes out of the hill and carried them up a suitable distance ou the cylinder.

` Attire same time as these cams draw each rake in succession into the cylinder, the corresponding rake in each set is, of course, b y means of the connectingrods h h, thrown outward iu time to enter the ground and` dig vup more potatoes.

The cams K K then operateto hold these latter r'akes outward, until the rollers k 7c on the'outerends of the rake-luads strike the cams J J, when the rakes are drawn iu'again.

By these means the potatoes are Adug `up and carried on the outer surface of the cylinder' I, the potatoes and dirt being kept from rolling oli' onthe sides or ends ofthe cylinder by the heads H H, which project beyond the cylinder, as shown in iig. 2.

The cams K are formed as shown in iig. 1, so 'that a portion thereof' ishelow the cams J, whereby the guiding of the rakcs is insured if the cylinder should turn backward.

'The cylinder H I'is covered by a bonnet, L, which rests upon the cam-boards E E, and is'on its under side, near each edge, provided with a downward-projecting ange, m., iitting close to the inner side of the edge of the head H, so as to prevent any dirt fromv falling oli` from the cylinder onto the gearing.

This bonnet L, which may be provided with side wings to cover the wheels, serves also as a protection for the driver, whose position is in rear of the cylinder, so that if by any accident he should fall forward he cannot be injured by the rake or. fork-teeth.

The bonnet L extends over the entire top forward to the projections t b, on the cam-boards, and at this end of' -tlie bonnet on each side is hookedj' an extension, M, which forms a continuation of the-flange m of the bonnet, said extensions passing around the lower front portion of the 'cylinder-heads, and are hooked or otherwise suitably fastened at ltheir lower Directly above the ti'ame A, and in the rear edgesl of the cam-boards E E, is secured a metal plate, 0, which extends between the cylinder-heads H. H, close to the cylinder I, and acts as a scraper to clean the cylinder of all adhering dirt, which is especially necessary in damp weather, when considerable dirt will adhere to the cylinder alter the potatoes have fallen oil" the cylinder.

Near the front edge of the scraper C is pivoted a series of rake-teeth, a a, some of which are bent in zigzag shipe, as shown partially in iig. l, said teeth extending downward and toward the rear, and pass through holes in a bar, 12, confined by staples to thc under side of the scraper'.

The potatoes, dirt, 86o., carried up by the rakcs to the top of the cylinder fall onto this rake, and are de nosited on the ground, to be afterward gathered.

By a rodor lever, t, attached to one end of the har p, the driver can changethe position of the teeth n a, so as to deposit the potatoes either to the right or vleft of the machine, as the case may require, so as to have them out of the way when the machine comes back again.

The'depth that the rakes e f are to work in the ground may be readily regulated by changing the point where the cam-boards lE E are pivoted to the posts D D. This may be done in various ways, and

kI deem it not necessary here to specify' any particular mode to accomplish that object.

lIhe machine is thrown out of gear by raising the front ends of the cam-boards by the use of a lever, P, as shown in g. 2.

Ou the outer side of thecam-board I may attach projecting flanges to protect the pinions C G from any dirt that might falldown from the wheels.

Having thus fully described my invention,

l/Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the perforated cylinder I with its heads II H, the rakese f, slots ai', rods l1., and

cams J K, all constructed and operating substantiallyV as set fort-h. l

2. The bonnet L, with its flanges m m, Aand the extensions M M, in combination with the cylinder I with its rakes and heads, and thecarn-board's E E, all substantially as set forth.

3. In combination with a potato-digger, the scraper O and oscillating rake-teeth n. n, constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set-m y hand this 7 th day of October, 1870.

NICHOLAS VANDEN BURGH Witnesses:

A. N. MARR, A. A. YEATMAN. 

